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Video Game Sales Down 19 Percent In October

Posted on: Friday, 13 November 2009, 11:25 CST

Video game sales took a 19 percent plummet in October, compared to the same month last year, according to a report from research firm NPD Group on Thursday.

Sales dropped to $1.07 billion in October as the video game industry heads into the usually profitable holiday season.

"The continued economic turmoil, and in particular the troubling unemployment rate, is undoubtedly impacting industry sales," said NPD videogame analyst Anita Frazier.

"With the excitement already being generated by 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2,' and the incredible buzz around upcoming titles 'New Super Mario Bros. Wii' and 'Assassin's Creed 2,' November is poised to be a strong month.."

Hardware sales reached $380.74 million compared to $497 million in October 2008.

Nintendo’s Wii console ranked the top seller in October with 507,000 units sold in the US, followed by Sony’s PS3 with 321,000 units sold and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 with 250,000 units.

Sony said the PS3 was the only unit to see year-over-year growth.

"We saw continued momentum on PS3 with nearly 70 percent growth when compared to last October," said PlayStation Network senior vice president Peter Dille.

"It's an understatement to say we're excited for this holiday and we don't have any plans to slow down."

Nintendo America’s President Reggie Fils-Aime told Reuters that the company’s projections for the holiday shopping season remain “very strong.”

"It's clear that the consumer's not back yet," said Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter. "The games were good, but hardware was surprisingly low."

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On the Net:

• NPD Group

Source: RedOrbit Staff & Wire Reports

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